Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1887-03-01
oorr,.pondsnes Of the Dsifas, Journal.
HOME LIFE IN MEXICO.
A MEXICAN prSSER. THE MENU. TABLE,
MANNERS. DiSiSo.Roos CONVENIENCE.
ZlcArrA.. MKsIco. Jan. 1881.

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be told al all ,ime.-we would no. abuse
the generous hospitality shown u, every
where In Mexico by invidious eompari-
cons. In . spiri, OF mutual good feel
ing, then. remembering that the customs
Of all lands differ aud tha, = Mexican
would probably End ss much to objec, to
in our methods a. We in his. le, US repair
TO the dining.rOom. Generally the most
welcome words ,ha, gree, my ears are
",.mos . eomer"-("le, us 20 TO din.
du"). for in Mexico nobody breakfasts
American fashion. bu, takes only tiny
cup Of chocolate OF coffee With . little
loaf Of Mexican bresd-whieh resembles
q badly raised biscuit. wiihou, butter
OF other seoompanimeni-immsdis's
on rising. Tha, is the ds'dyun' or al
m0rrar. Among the upper classes the
real breskf.s, IL much like an American
dinner. served In variogs courses. accom-
panied by wines. aud generally oeear
between eleven O'Clock A. " and two in
the afternoon. As may be imagined. by
that hour our healthy Yankee sPpe,iis'
are ",harp se," enough 10 do justice to
any menu. however ungus.able a con-
undnm the Ingredients Of the dishes
may be.
Un,ike other rooms Of the house. the
oop,s,lor (dining.room) ], often no, even
tiled With brick. eemen,ed. OF hoofed =,
all.-bu, i,s hard surface. though worn
into hollow. here and there. !, ersfally
swep, and ksp, as swee, aud clean +.
would no, be possible with carpet, 10
,hi, in,eei.bresdipg country. OF course
there are houses. especially in the City
Of Me,'co. where the dinins.room i
marvel Of laIgry; bu, We are speaking
Of that Of tie average well.,o.do Meii.
can, and Of the ciia. like thousands OF
its class. which h. been my home for
months. In Mexico carpets are = COM
paiG,ivsly rare luxury in any part OF the
hoa,e-and very ,en,ibly. iof the tiled
fioor. OF those Of cement, ,in,sd In 'ot
eolor aud shining like marble, are much
more beautiful and suited TO the tropical
climate.
The oonsdor Of my Temporary home
open. into the sunny inner court. which
At ,hi. time Of year is full OF fruit and
flower. Being paved With rough stones
the ooar, israi.ed = few inches above the
level Of the dining room. and therefore
when the brief iournis Of rsln come
which are common In this latitude a
small food pour, in aud forms small
lake. in the hOllo-s made by much
showing about Of ehair-wkieh the ser-
want. make haste 10 bail oa, with
plates.
The one enormously wide window Is
Of course barred on the outside. aud !.
massive inner ,hu,,sr-wi,kou, Stats.
made exactly like those Of shop OF
b.rn-are never unelosed. This house.
like many others In the interior OF Mex
ico. h.. no, . pane Of glass anywhere,
ba, Il, gr,a, windows. with their deep
lsds,s and protecting bars are charming
ly quAin, and pie,urssque-sfisr you get
used 10 the fashion 30 foreign TO Amsri-
can IDEAS.
A. there 4. no communicating passage
between dining. room aud kitchen, the
outer door Of ,h. former stands Always
Hospitality side open. both in summer
and win,sf--fOr otherwise !, would be
as dark q. q dungeon unless the shutters
were unelo.sd. and in the latter case.
the sres, window opening directly on
the street,. the lspero' and other gsmin
would swarm around in such numbers
iha, epjoymen, Of the meal would be
impossible.
In rather ineongruous ooa,rAsi TO the
dirt floor IL . handsome mahogany side.
board, with much elA, ware shining
upon IL. some disuae,ing pieces OF old
blue china. and queer articles OF GaadAl.
sjsra pottery in the line Of ws,er,jsr, etc.
which We long to possess. The corners
Of the room are adorned with wash.
stands, with bowl and towel AceompAni.
ments-,he convenience Of which IL by
and by app.en, in lieu Of hnger-bowl'.
The most distinguished gue', is given
the post Of homo. a. the head Of the ,a-
be. other guests are seated a. his right
and left, and the hoe, and hostess place
themselves wherever IL happens. When
we enter there is nothing upon the table
but pile Of plates, . heap Of knives,
fork. and spoons. and = cluster OF COB
lsts-all q, the foot Of the table, where
stands the head waiter. II this import
ant funetionary Is woman. her
head and shoulders are usually wrapped
in her rebosa. (for she wears only skirt
and chemi.s). aud the ends Of the nation.
al shawl have an uncomfortable habit OF
tapping into the soup and therein help.
ing 10 flavor the whole bill Of fare. IL
the waiter be q man. he " course wears
no coat. bu, frequently the omni.pre.en,
s.rspe (nstive blanket is thrown over
hi. shoulders. and bis precious .ombrero
is always upon his head, partially cover
ing his flowing locks.
This midday meal, whethcf We esh "
breskfss, or dinner. Is such an exceed
ingly eermonious affair - to neeessitaie
. grea, number Of plates to each person.
There Is little variation 10 the menu. one
meal being nearly the exact counterpart
Of al Others during the year.
As the servants emerge from among
the roses Of the courtyard bearing our
ambrosis, we think Of fairy tales aud
the Arabian Nish,s-only these attend.
ants do no, much resemble orthodox fsi-
riss, nor Is the food they bring exactly
Ike the smbro.is OF our Imagination
Fip,. broth Is served in small china
tss-eups. each cup covered with hot
tOrila (psn eske) and Is set upon =
plate. which also holds = huge brass
spoon. Ms1ieans have . peculiar fsnd-
ness for fst Of sll kinds, . passion Tor
,hs, species Of red hO. peppers called
ek,ii, and . settled belief that onions are
ss necessary to life and happiness As sal,